Shocking Disclosure
by Syrus
Summary: Sequel to Homecoming. What will happen when a certain Larry Butz finally finds out about Phoenix and Miles's relationship?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Larry Butz finally had it.

He decided that he needed to corner Phoenix and figure out, once and for all, who exactly he was seeing, because it was just driving him nuts. Every time he asked Phoenix who it was, Phoenix would change the subject or just flat out ignore the question. He decided the best way to do this was to show up at his office unannounced and then just ask him so he would have no way of avoiding the question there.

With these thoughts in mind, Larry burst into Phoenix's office yelling, "THIS TIME YOU'RE GOING TO TELL ME WHO IT IS WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT NICK--"

Larry suddenly cut off when he only found a bewildered Maya Fey looking at him, and Phoenix was no where in sight.

Pearl, who was visiting for a few weeks, had hid behind Phoenix's desk when Larry had burst in. The whole thing had scared the poor girl.

"M-Mystic Maya who is that?!" The small girl asked quietly as she peeked from behind the desk. Maya looked at Larry completely confused.

"Don't worry Pearly! It's just one of Nick's friends." She looked at Larry for a second. "Didn't you know? Nick is on a date!"

"With who!?" Larry asked with his sparkly teary eyes, "Nick doesn't seem to want to tell me who he's dating! His best friend!"

"He didn't tell you?! He's out with Mr. Edgeworth." She smiled happily as Pearl went to stand next to her.

"Whoa! Edgey? Nick is _dating_ Edgey?! No way!" Larry said in absolute disbelief.

"Yes, way! He's dating Mr. Edgeworth! Those two were meant for each other." Maya pouted angrily that Larry didn't believe her. Pearl looked mad.

"Mystic Maya doesn't lie! She's telling the truth!" Pearl said defensively with a scary look in her eyes.

Larry shrunk away from the scary little girl and said apologetically, "I...I just find it hard to believe...I always thought Nick was into chicks!"

Then Larry was thoughtful for a moment, scratching his head in confusion and said, "I know he had a girlfriend in college..."

Larry then laughed and added, "And Edgey...is, well...Edgey! Why would Nick want to date him?"

"I know! Let's go find Nick! If Nick is with Mr. Edgeworth there's no way that you can't believe it." Maya thought for a second at the question. "And how should I know, you should ask him."

Maya and Larry's conversation was suddenly interrupted by yet another person coming into the office.

"Hello..." she said, looking at Maya and Larry curiously, "I'm looking for Mr. Wright. My name's Ema Skye."

Maya pointed at Ema as though she caught her in some type of act and yelled, "AH!! It's you! Nick told me about you! You're the science girl! He also told me all about the case! Of course I had to bother him enough to actually tell the whole story in full detail..."

Ema looked extremely confused at this sudden burst in, as Maya ran up to her happily smiling.

"I'm a scientific investigator." Ema corrected, but she smiled, feeling flattered that Phoenix had mentioned her to other people, "Is Mr. Wright here? I had to talk to him about something..."

"Nope! Nick is on a date!" Maya smiled happily. "We were about to go find him because Larry doesn't believe us." Pearl nodded eagerly.

"Mr. Wright...on a date? This is something that deserves scientific investigation!" Ema said excitedly, wanting to go on this 'mission' as much as Larry, Maya, and Pearl.

Maya was really excited now. "Let's go find Nick!" She grabbed Pearl by the hand and ran out happily. "I think I heard him say where he was going on the phone before..." It seemed the word privacy wasn't in any of their vocabularies.

"Oh yeah. What did you need to ask him anyway?" Maya looked at Ema curiously.

"Well, I was down visiting my sister, so I thought I'd drop by to see Mr. Edgeworth too, since I really do think he's a great prosecutor. When I went to his office, he told me that he was just about to leave for an important appointment and he would be glad to see me tomorrow if I could stop by then instead. But something about the conversation seemed off, like he was strangely nervous, scientifically speaking. And...now that I think about it, he was dressed rather strangely too..." Ema said as she mused about the meeting she had with Miles earlier that day, "I decided I could come to ask Mr. Wright for help in solving the mystery, since he seemed to be so good at this in my sister's case."

Ema flipped open the little journal she takes always takes notes in to look up what she noted down about Miles's appearance

"Yes...a casual button up shirt, and what appeared to be black jeans." Ema read.

"EH?! Mr. Edgeworth not wearing his cravat thing or magenta?" Maya looked like she was in total shock before she smiled happily. "Oh but we know why he was in a hurry and why he was nervous."

"They're on a date right now," Pearl said smiling happily. It seemed her thought that Maya and Phoenix were together was finally gone.

"And they look perfect together," Maya added in, beginning to lead the way to the restaurant on food.

"Hold on here! I still don't believe it!" Larry cut in as they walked, "Have you all forgotten this is Edgey we're talking about here? He's always seemed too dull to me...you'd think Nick would want to be with someone he could have a little fun with, you know?"

"You should see them in court!" Maya said angrily. "They make court cases interesting and I'm sure they enjoy it themselves. It doesn't matter. Pearly and I will show evidence that they're together."

"So, what you are saying is that Mr. Edgeworth is on a date with Mr. Wright?" Ema said in shock and disbelief.

"Yes!" Both Pearl and Maya had answered.

"Oh! I think we're here," Maya said as she pointed to the restaurant.

"Now this is something that can only be proven with some scientific investigation!" Ema said, whipping out her journal, ready to take notes.

* * *

It seemed no one would see the day Miles Edgeworth would walk in jeans. At least in broad daylight. But he was currently in a pair of jeans and even a normal shirt sitting across from Phoenix at a restaurant. Not a frill could be seen on the prosecuting attorney. He had a slightly amused expression watching Phoenix trying to figure out what to order.

"It's no different from ordering from a cheaper restaurant, Phoenix. I assure you that the names are merely there to make it sound better."

"I don't know what to choose...everything seems so unnecessarily expensive..." Phoenix said in shock as he browsed through the menu.

"I told you I was paying." Miles rolled his eyes. "And prices are like that at times. It's something we all have to deal with." He did find his shocked face rather amusing though.

"Alright, alright." Phoenix said, finally acquiescing, "I'll just have this enchilada dish."

Phoenix now looked up from his menu, deciding to take the opportunity to admire how Miles looked. He was now wearing semi casual clothes, with, surprisingly, no magenta, and Phoenix had to say, he really did look good. This caused a little smile to come to his lips as he looked at Miles.

He had just finished telling the orders to the waiter and was handing him their menus. The waiter quickly left with their orders. Miles then turned to Phoenix seeing a small smile was playing on his lips.

"What're you smiling about, Phoenix?" Although I have a pretty good guess what.

"You look nice." Phoenix said plainly, his smile turning shy.

Miles couldn't help but smile. "I can say the same thing to you, Phoenix."

Phoenix gave Miles a big grin in response, and said in amusement, "You're just saying that because you bought me these clothes."

Miles looked a little hurt at this comment.

"No, I'm not just saying that. I really think you look nice."

Phoenix felt bad that Miles seemed to take his joke the wrong way, so he slowly reached for Miles's hand and gave it a little squeeze, softly saying, "I know you do. Thanks."

Miles looked at Phoenix smiling softly. "You're welcome..." He held onto Phoenix's hand tightly. Miles wasn't always sure if Phoenix was joking or not. He could pick up sarcasm quite easily, but Miles had never been the type to joke around much.

* * *

Maya and Pearl slowly snuck in as a few people were going in.

"Hurry up you two!" Maya whispered to Ema and Larry. It seemed Maya had gotten much better at spying, although no one would ever be sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Larry and Ema tried to be inconspicuous when they too walked into the restaurant, but they only succeeded in getting a few stares as they tried to act "normal". But they finally caught up to Maya and waited for her to lead them, since she seemed to know what she was doing and where she was going.

Maya continued on, finding a good spot to hide and spy on Phoenix and Miles.

"See? They're obviously dating," she said triumphantly. Pearl seemed to be more excited about the whole adventure more than actually watching Phoenix and Miles.

Larry looked over to their table and he was first shocked at Miles actually not being in a magenta suit for once.

He shook his head a little to get over that, and then he said, "They're just sitting at a table together. Who knows...maybe they're just talking about their court-y stuff."

Maya pouted angrily. "If it was just court business, why would Mr. Edgeworth wear something so casual?"

"Mr. Nick isn't wearing his suit either. They seem pretty laid back too." Pearl said thoughtfully.

"And if it was court business, they'd probably not talk to each other at all. You don't give information to your enemy or something like that." Maya was annoyed that Larry didn't seem to get it.

"And, scientifically speaking, Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Wright seem to be smiling too much to be talking about something like court business..." Ema mumbled, partly to herself as she jotted things down into her journal.

Pearl looked over again before quickly ducking again. She was giggling softly and a large smile was on her face. Confused with this reaction Maya also looked over before ducking too.

"Hey Larry, go look over now and try telling me Nick and Mr. Edgeworth aren't together." Maya had a big grin plastered on her face.

Larry first focused on Miles and Phoenix's faces, finding small smiles there, seeing them looking at each other...as if they loved each other.

_Oh, no way..._Larry thought, unable to believe his eyes.

Then he looked down and saw their hands. One of Miles's hands was clearly tightly clasped in Phoenix's.

_Holding...hands...? Maya is right...but...how...? Nick didn't even say anything to me about it!_ Larry thought, his confusion turning quickly to anger.

With shiny tears in his eyes, Larry said, "But he didn't even tell me...I don't believe this!!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"He probably was afraid how'd you react. I mean this is probably the type of reaction he was expecting," Maya said simply.

Pearl was looking at all the notes Ema was fervently writing down.

But Larry wasn't listening to Maya. He was too absorbed with the fact that his friends would keep such an important secret from him, making him feel extremely left out. This was definitely something that did not sit well with Larry.

Before Maya, Ema, or Pearl could say anything else to him, Larry was making his way over to their table, yelling at what appeared to be the top of his lungs, "I DON'T BELIEVE YOU GUYS, HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME THAT YOU TWO WERE DATING?!"

Maya just wished the rest of them could hide.

_So much for spying undercover..._she thought, clapping a hand to her forehead.

The expression on Miles's face was a mix of shock and horror. Yes, he had expected spying. He didn't expect Larry walking up to them. Not only that, yelling at the top of his lungs of their date. He felt extremely uncomfortable suddenly as many eyes were all directed towards Phoenix, Larry, and himself. His grip on Phoenix's hand tightened unconsciously.

"Are we in trouble?" Pearl asked Maya nervously.

"Probably. We ruined their date and potentially exposed their whole relationship." Maya suddenly feared this whole fiasco would cause problems for the two attorneys.

Phoenix was just in shock at the sudden appearance of Larry yelling at the top of his lungs, so it was very difficult to get his mind straight enough to speak.

"Larry...what are you doing here?" Phoenix asked him carefully, not knowing what he could say to calm Larry down enough to stop people from staring at them.

Phoenix was just too in shock to even think of letting go of Miles's hand, which was probably not helping people to stop staring at them.

Maya decided that there was no other reason to hide, revealed herself.

"Nick, Larry wanted to know who you were with so he barged into the office earlier today. He didn't believe me when I told him who. I didn't mean to cause this commotion..." Maya's expression showed that she really didn't mean for this to happen. _Why does Larry always have to over react to everything?  
_  
Larry pointed at Phoenix and Miles in what seemed to be almost in a scolding way. "That's right! I can't believe you didn't tell me! Me! Larry, your best friend!" It seemed trying to calm down Larry would require a lot of work.

"Stop yelling at Mr. Nick!" Pearl suddenly piped in, approaching Larry with an angry look on her face.

Larry was once again afraid of her and stopped yelling immediately. Ema slowly followed behind her, still scribbling things down in her notebook.

"Little girl frightens older man with orange hair. Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth both have horrified expressions on their faces...perhaps they are embarrassed their friend is being picked on by a 10 year old..." Ema mumbled to herself as she wrote.

"P-Phoenix. Let's go." Miles quickly fumbled for money to leave on the table. Miles really felt like dying just about now. Not only were they spied on by four different people, their relationship was exposed to an entire restaurant. "I-I'll take you out to eat again...w-when Larry isn't bursting in at random."

_Oh I'm pretty sure those horrified expressions aren't because of Pearly..._ Maya thought as she heard what Ema was writing. Although it seemed Pearl's power over Larry had started getting the attention of part of the crowd away from Phoenix and Miles.

"Yeah, let's." Phoenix muttered back to Miles, hurriedly getting up from the table and leading the way out of the restaurant.

Miles quickly followed not wanting to be stared at any longer. Maya had noticed their departure but chose not to follow. If she did, she'd probably end up bringing Larry with her too, and Larry was the problem in the first place. _Why couldn't he just believe me when I told him? _Maya thought bitterly.

* * *

When they had gotten to Miles's car and sat down, now far away from all prying eyes, they took a moment to actually figure out what the heck happened.

"Of everyone to find out about us, it had to be Larry..." Phoenix said softly, still thoroughly embarrassed by everything that had just happened.

"He'd find out sooner or later. Although I wish he didn't find out like this." Miles sighed, their date pretty much ruined. "It wasn't just Larry, it was Ema too." _Thank god it wasn't anyone like Franziska._ He wasn't sure what would have happened if she found out. "What now?" He didn't really want to go out anymore, but he had been looking forward to this.

"I don't know...I just want to go somewhere where I can be alone with you in peace." Phoenix said with a determined expression on his face.

"I guess we should go back to my place than." Although you surely won't find peace with Pess around. Miles fished out his keys from his pocket and inserted them into the ignition. "You do know we'll have to talk to Larry sooner or later now that he knows."

Phoenix let out a big sigh in defeat and said, "Yeah, I know. I've felt really bad about keeping everything a secret from him, but I knew he'd react this way."

Phoenix was silent for a moment while Miles started the car but then he said in amusement, "...It's my place too, you know."

Miles couldn't help but blush a bit at this remark. "I-I meant that. S-Shall we go h-home then?" He felt foolish that saying that one word could cause him to stutter so easily.

"I guess home is the only place that's safe really..." Phoenix said, his tone serious once again.

Phoenix pondered on how exactly to talk to Larry about this, since everything had gone so wrong already.

_I know he's not going to be pleased to find out that Miles and I have been dating for a long while and have also moved in together..._Phoenix thought, feeling a little glum.

Miles started driving home. A thought passed his mind.

"Phoenix? Larry knows where we live doesn't he? Or at least where you used to live..." Would he pass by our houses? Hopefully not. It was Larry after all, he was always doing reckless things. "Today was great don't you think?" The sarcasm was obvious in his voice and his expression was grim.

"I think Larry will eventually find us, the same way he found us at the restaurant." Phoenix replied, trying to get ready for the confrontation he knew was coming, "Let's just try to forget about him and all of this until he does, okay? We hardly get to spend time with each other, even when we're living together...I want to make the most of this..."

Miles parked into the driveway. "I guess we should try making more time to spend together." He wasn't going to deny that either of them weren't workaholics. "Although when you say it like that, you make it sound like one of us is leaving." _But there's no way I could leave here again...at least not without Phoenix._ Miles thought as he stepped out of the car.

"Don't say that..." Phoenix said, trying to sound like he was saying it lightheartedly, but he didn't even want to joke about the possibility of Miles ever leaving again.

Phoenix also got out of the car and impulsively grabbed Miles's hand as they made their way to the door.

Miles locked his car before smiling softly at Phoenix.

"Even if I wanted to leave I couldn't. You've become too important to me Phoenix." As he unlocked the front door, Pess's excited barks could be heard. "We should take him on a walk sometime soon," Miles thought out loud.

Miles's words comforted Phoenix slightly as they walked inside the house. Phoenix pet Pess as he always did when he came home but then he focused on Miles again when Miles shut and locked the door.

Phoenix walked up to Miles, took his hands in his own and said, "I really have missed you..."

Miles held onto Phoenix's hands tightly. "I've missed you too..." Hearing those words come from Phoenix's mouth always made him realize just how dumb it was to just disappear like that. But the past was the past and he'd be sure not to make the same mistake again.

Phoenix smiled softly, then he slowly got closer to Miles, putting his hands on Miles's shoulders, and he pulled him into a gentle kiss.

* * *

Maya had dragged them all back to the Wright and Co offices and was now lecturing Larry.

"Of course he wouldn't tell you if that was how you were going to react! Now we all ruined Nick's date with Mr. Edgeworth!" She couldn't blame just Larry on that incident as it was her fault to.

"How're we going to make it up to Mr. Nick?" Pearl asked worriedly.

Larry felt guilty the whole walk back to Phoenix's office, and even more so with Maya's lecturing.

"Yeah...we really should...I...didn't mean to yell like that...I just felt so left out, you know?" Larry said, looking and sounding very guilty.

Maya grabbed the phone and started dialing Mai's number hoping the other wasn't busy. "We'll plan the perfect date for Nick and Mr. Edgeworth!" Of course she would need help for this. _I know nothing about romance even after I watched all those movies...oh wait those were romance comedies._ Pearl had taken her place trying to see what Ema was writing in her notebook.

"Hello, Detective Wright speaking." Mai said as she picked up her phone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_I wonder if they have another crime scene for me to investigate today..._Mai thought, already feeling bogged down by paperwork from other investigations she participated in.

"You busy Mai?!" Maya said urgently, yet not at the same time somehow. "We need help with setting up a date!" Maya was being pretty blunt about the situation.

"Oh, hey Maya...A date? Oh, don't tell me this is something else having to do with Phoenix and Miles..." Mai said, immediately realizing where Maya was going with this, feeling like she had gotten tangled up in one too many spying schemes with her in the past.

"It does." Maya explained the whole thing to Mai. "And so now we need help making up for what we've done." In truth, the thought of spying on Phoenix and Miles did not come up in her mind until Larry had refused to believe her. "So will you help us?"

Mai let out a little sigh and said, "Alright. I have a bit of paperwork to get done, but I can meet you at Phoenix's office after that."

Maya smiled happily as she hung up. "Alright you guys! Let's start planning!"

An idea suddenly came into Maya's head. She decided the best way to do this was to enlist the help of a certain sister…

* * *

It had been entirely too long since Phoenix had gotten a moment alone with Miles like this, the kiss he shared with Miles feeling absolutely wonderful. He pulled Miles into him

and deepened the kiss.

Miles wrapped his arms around Phoenix as the kiss was deepened. He'd kissed him so many times yet he always wanted more. He missed being able to embrace Phoenix like this.

As Phoenix kissed Miles, he forgot about the restaurant incident, and Larry and the rest of the world for just for a few fantastic moments. Finally he pulled back from Miles slightly to catch his breath, and then leaned back toward him, gently beginning to lower his lips to Miles's neck.

There was a sudden loud banging at his door which caused Miles to come back to reality. Pess went shooting towards the door barking gleefully. He slowly broke free from Phoenix's embrace reluctantly and headed for the door. A puzzled expression was on his face, wondering who would come knocking at his door. He unlocked the door and opened it to find Larry, grinning like he usually does, at his front door.

"Larry?" Miles looked at him in slight trepidation, wondering why he was so happy.

Phoenix had followed Miles to the door, also curious about who it could be, but having a sneaking suspicion on who it was. When Miles opened the door, he found out he was right.

"Let's let him in." Phoenix said, not wanting to create a ruckus in their neighborhood too if Larry suddenly decided to start yelling on their doorstep.

Larry still had his big grin plastered on. "It's not me coming in, it's you two coming out!"

Miles looked even more confused now. _Is Larry planning something? Oh, I don't know about this…_ "We're going out? But where?" It was odd to think that Larry had something planned at all.

"I don't know, Larry..." Phoenix said hesitantly, unable to decide if this would be a good idea or not.

"Oh come on, Nick! I promise it'll be worth it!" Larry looked determined to get the two out of the house.

Phoenix then looked at Miles as if to see what he thought of this, and when he saw Miles seemed just as confused as he felt, he agreed reluctantly, "...alright."

"Great!" Larry waited for the two to come out and lock the door.

"So what's this all about?" Miles asked curiously.

"Can't tell you two," Larry said happily.

"Let's just go. He's going to make us come anyway." Phoenix said dryly as they followed Larry to his car.

Miles locked his door and followed the two.

"On the way I want you two to tell me everything!" Larry didn't sound angry though, just curious.

When all of them were in the car and had begun to drive, Larry began with the questions.

"So, when exactly did you guys get together anyway?"

"Well...ahh...we've actually been together for more than a year..." Phoenix said hesitantly, giving Larry a sheepish smile.

"WHAT?! A whole year?!?! And you didn't even tell your best friend! This can't be true, Nick!" Larry said rather loudly and melodramatically.

"Also," Larry said as he regained his composure, "I went by your place first and when I knocked on your door, these strangers answered it. Did you move or something?" The expression on Miles's face was similar to Phoenix's embarrassed expression.

"About that," Miles said thoughtfully, "Well you see, he's actually living with me now..."

"I just can't believe it..." Larry said as if he was in shock, "Together for so long and living together?! Man, this is just unreal!"

Miles was deep in thought. _He took that pretty well actually. I expected him to totally freak out, even if he is driving._ Miles was also becoming more curious of their destination, but it seemed Larry wasn't going to tell them anything.

After driving quietly for a while, with Larry smiling broadly. Both Phoenix and Miles were extremely curious about what he had up his sleeve, but they just waited quietly until he said something.

* * *

Mia had taken over and was making sure everything was coming together perfectly. She was sure Ema wouldn't notice the difference between her and Maya and Pearl was still naive, but Mia had made note of how perceptive Mai was. _If anyone is to notice, it would be Phoenix and his cousin. I guess it runs in the family._

Mia was right. Mai had seen the Maya that had come in the door, and she knew that within a few minutes that Maya looked very different. When she spoke, she even sounded different. Something funny definitely was going on here.

_Oh, the Maya I knew definitely liked to eat, but I didn't have much stock in her cooking ability. This person here seems to be an excellent cook. _Mai thought.

When Ema and Pearl went off to set the table with the fancy dishes, silverware, and table cloth she handed them, she approached "Maya" in the kichen.

Mai slowly touched her shoulder and said hesitantly, "Ummm...you look different...Maya."

It probably wouldn't hurt to tell this girl. Mia thought. She turned smiling at Mai.

"Did you know the Fey family have had a long line of spirit mediums?" She was testing Mai's skills in deducing things. If Phoenix had said anything about her, especially about her death, than she might be able to piece two and two together. _Let's see your detective skills at work._

Mai narrowed her eyebrows in thought at "Maya" as she put together what she was just told. She knew that Maya had spirit channeling abilities, she just never knew that it was this easy for them to channel. As Mai studied the face in front of her some more, she saw that this face looked like Maya, yet it wasn't. This person had to be someone closely related to Maya, and they had to be dead, obviously since they were being channeled by Maya.

"You're Mia Fey!" Mai finally said in surprise as all the pieces finally fell into place in her mind, "Phoenix has told me all about you..."

"He has had he? That's good to know." Mia continued cooking quite impressed with Mai. "You're quite the detective. Most probably couldn't pinpoint me as quickly as you did. And you thankfully did not faint." She remembered when she had came to Phoenix's aid and the shock had caused him to pass out...twice. _There seems to be a connection with skill and rookie with his family._ Mia thought amusedly.

Mai gave Mia a smile and said, "Thanks for helping us...lately we seem to keep ruining the times that Phoenix and Miles want to spend with each other...we really had to make it up to them this time."

"He does tend to attract problems," Mia said thoughtfully. Actually, Phoenix, Larry, and Miles all seem to attract horrendous problems on themselves..."Although I did expect him to have better taste," she said jokingly. The two getting together was a shocker, but at the same time, it seemed to make sense.

"Oh, I don't know, I think Miles is kind of good looking, in a brooding sort of way..." Mai said in humor.

Mia laughed at the comment. "Maybe if he wore normal clothes more often, magenta isn't a brooding color after all. And Phoenix never struck me as the type to go for them."

"Well, I guess he surprised all of us, didn't he?" Mai said, always suspecting that Phoenix was gay, but never having heard it from his own lips.

Ema and Pearl finally came back to the kitchen to inform Mai and Mia that the table was ready.

"I think we placed everything perfectly, scientifically speaking." Ema said confidently, with a smile.

"The food is almost done and I believe Larry should be back with the two soon." Mia was going to make sure this dinner would come out perfect for the two. She suddenly pondered for a few seconds, "how can we perfect the atmosphere? We have the candle, table, food..." There was something missing that would help a lot.

* * *

Finally Larry, Phoenix, and Miles came to a stop in front of an apartment building. Suddenly Phoenix recognized this as Mai's apartment complex.

_What are we doing here?_ Phoenix wondered as Larry led both he and Miles inside, grinning widely.

Miles followed still clueless of their location. When Larry got to the door, he knocked on it. Mai opened it smiling happily and let them in. As the three walked in, Miles was shocked to see what was before them. It was a small table set neatly. There was a single candle and a small vase with flowers in the center of the table. There were also two chairs facing each other set up. Mia had realized earlier that there needed to be music and had spent a few minutes with Mai looking for any CDs that would help in the atmosphere.

"What's going on?" Miles was nearly dumbfounded at the arrangement.

Pearl suddenly came up to Phoenix and Miles, sounding very apologetic as she said, "We felt really bad about ruining your special time together, so we really wanted to make it up to you! Just follow me to your table!"

Pearl brought them to the set up table and directed them to their seats.

"This seat is for you, Mr. Nick, and that one is for you, Mr. Edgeworth!"

"Oh Pearls...you guys didn't have to go through all this trouble..." Phoenix said, a slight blush coming to his cheeks.

Mia walked out of the kitchen. "Of course we had to. Not only to make up for the screw up, we wanted to show you that we support you two." She was sure Phoenix would recognize her. "Now please take your seats and we'll serve you dinner." Mia smiled warmly at them.

Miles had sat down slowly, still a little speechless of everything. "T-Thank you," Miles said as best he could, stammering. Mia disappeared back into the kitchen taking note that Phoenix had surely been a change for Miles, in a good way.

_Those two are so hopeless._ Mia thought amusedly.

The surprise and recognition flashed immediately on Phoenix's face when he looked at Mia, but he said nothing since he was with Miles. When Phoenix took his seat at the table, he noticed that some romantic sounding music was playing softly in the background.

"Wow, this is really...nice..." Phoenix said, giving Miles a small smile.

Pearl had disappeared back into the kitchen before coming back out with a basket of garlic bread. She was soon followed by Ema who was carrying the plates of pasta. Mia soon came back to view with a bottle of wine. It wasn't an extremely expensive bottle, but it wasn't a totally cheap one either. Mai already had the wine glasses in her hand.

"It...is." Miles couldn't help but smile. He didn't think their day would improve at all and yet he found himself sitting here with Phoenix.

Mai placed the wine glasses in front of Phoenix and Miles and then Mia poured some in their glasses. When they were alone again, Phoenix took a sip of his wine and found that it had a rather nice flavor. Then he reached out and had a piece of garlic bread.

"This is good bread." Phoenix said, taking another bite, "Mia--umm, I mean Maya, really outdid herself..."

"I didn't know she could cook. Although something about her didn't seem right..." He had also taken a piece of garlic bread and was eating too. "But you know, it really is nice they set this up for us." _To think I nearly threw this all away..._ He took a sip of his wine, although he was still thinking intently and didn't really acknowledge the taste.

"Yeah, even if some of them are overly curious most of the time, their hearts are in the right place." Phoenix said in slight amusement, now picking up his fork to start on the pasta.

Which, he had to say, was just as delicious as the bread.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Miles felt tears coming to his eyes, but he wasn't sad. On the contrary, he was extremely happy and touched, but he couldn't stop them from coming. Miles had never thought he'd ever have friends like these. He felt like his world was perfect.

Phoenix looked up from his pasta and was surprised to find tears forming in Miles's eyes, making them glint brightly in the candle light.

"Is everything okay, Miles?" Phoenix asked curiously and softly.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just that, I'm just grateful I didn't throw my life away..." He let the tears gracefully run down his cheeks. Miles looked up at Phoenix, smiling. It had been so long since he had smiled so happily that way.

Something about the look on Miles's face made Phoenix suddenly get up from his chair, walk over to Miles and pull him up from his chair into a hug. He just wanted to show Miles he shared what he felt, and that he loved him more than anything.

Miles was slightly surprised when Phoenix had suddenly gotten up and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around Phoenix returning the hug. _If only moments like these could last forever_. Miles had forgotten all about the fiasco earlier that day as he was so happy now, it didn't seem to matter anyways. And for a few minutes he had forgotten all about the dinner as all his thoughts were on Phoenix.

Phoenix looked into Miles's eyes as they embraced, finding them to be slightly shiny with tears, and yet his face seemed more pleasant than he'd seen it in a long time. Phoenix slowly leaned toward Miles, feeling almost drawn to his lips, the atmosphere and his proximity to Miles making him forget that he was in his cousin's apartment.

...Almost.

_All of them are probably just watching us from the kitchen, giggling_. Phoenix thought, stopping face just centimeters away from Miles's, willing himself to open his eyes and distance himself before he gave into temptation.

When he saw Miles looking at him in confusion, he whispered simply, "Later..."

Miles couldn't say he wasn't disappointed. But he suddenly remembered where they were and who might be peeking out of the kitchen watching.

"That better be a promise, Phoenix." Miles quietly said with a small smile as he went back to eating. Miles couldn't help but keep glancing at Phoenix every few seconds. He felt rather foolish, but Phoenix had always had some type of spell on his senses. He couldn't keep looking at him either. He feared if he kept looking at Phoenix too long, his face would end up a deep red.

Phoenix continued to eat his food, and he noticed the way Miles kept glancing in his direction. He couldn't blame him, he kept feeling like looking at Miles a lot too.

"I still can't believe they went through all this trouble," Miles said smiling softly.

"Yeah, I know. Our friends are very odd, but I think they're the best friends we could ask for." Phoenix said, a contented smile coming to his face.

"Odd would be an understatement, Phoenix. They're a little weirder than just odd." But he knew Phoenix was right. He couldn't think of anyone else who would show him such kindness.

Finally they got through their dinner, surprisingly without hearing one giggle from the kitchen.

_I have to admit, this has got to be one of the nicest dinners I've had with Miles. _ Phoenix thought happily, the whole fiasco at lunch far from his mind in this moment.

Miles had found that dinner quite enjoyable. It beat going to any restaurant, no matter how great the food was. There was something about eating at someone's place being more enjoyable than going out somewhere.

Pearl was peeking out of the kitchen door, it seemed that the small group of friends had been taking turn checking if Phoenix and Miles were done yet.

Phoenix noticed Miles looking behind him, and he caught Pearl's outfit swishing behind her as she tried to get behind the kitchen wall without being seen. Phoenix took this opportunity to get up from the table and walk closer to the kitchen.

"Hey, guys...we're done now. Really, that was absolutely great." Phoenix said in the direction of the kitchen, a big smile on his face.

The group of friends came out of the kitchen. Mia was still there too. Pearl ran over hugging Phoenix.

"Does that mean that you forgive us for earlier, Mr. Nick?" Pearl looked at Phoenix waiting for a reply. Mia smiled warmly knowing Phoenix probably couldn't be mad at any of them anymore. Miles had also found it hard to be mad at any of them, especially Pearl.

"I couldn't stay mad at you, Pearls." Phoenix said as he hugged her tightly.

Finally he pulled away from her and got up.

"Thanks for this, really." Phoenix said, smiling at Mia, Ema, Mai, Larry, and Pearl.

Pearl was extremely happy to hear that as she ran back to Mia.

"What are friends for?!" Larry grinned as he walked over patting Phoenix and Miles on the back happily, although he might have done it a little too hard.

"He's right, no need to thank us really," Mia replied.

Phoenix stopped himself from coughing from Larry's overly enthusiastic assault on his back, and he smiled again. Phoenix was really thankful for everything they did for him, but at this time, he just wanted to get home so that he could get a moment alone with Miles. Phoenix glanced over to Mai pointedly, hoping she would get the hint, since he didn't want to be the one to say he wanted to leave.

After a second, Mai realized why Phoenix was looking at her slightly awkwardly and quickly said, looking at both Phoenix and Miles, "I'm glad we could make this evening nice for you two."

Then Mai turned to Larry, gave him a look as if to give him a hint, and said, "Oh, Larry, I bet they'd probably want to go home now..."

Miles stumbled slightly. He had been knocked a little off balance from the sudden attack from Larry.

"Yeah sure. I'll bring them home." Larry was already heading towards the front door.

Mia smiled at Phoenix. "See you again." Pearl went over hugging Phoenix, and even Miles received a hug from the happy girl.

Ema waved happily and said, "Before I go, we should all get together soon!"

Larry said excitedly. "Maybe we should do a picnic or go to the amusement park!" Miles realized he had never really been to an amusement park before as he heard Larry said those words. The thought of going out with everyone sounded pleasant though.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea." Phoenix replied happily to Larry as the three of them made their way out of the door.

* * *

Now it was just Ema, Mai, Mia, and Pearl.

Pearl put her hands to her face and said, "They looked so great together."

Ema scribbled something about this quickly into her notebook.

Maya was suddenly back and she said, "Well, that went well, didn't it?"

"Scientifically speaking, yes it did." Ema looked up smiling.

"Although I'd never thought those two would end up together." The young girl looked through a few pages of her notebook. "At least nothing in my notebook pointed to this outcome."

Maya stifled a laugh at Ema's comment and then she said, "I think they're great together...Mr. Edgeworth helps Nick do better in court and Nick helps Mr. Edgeworth to loosen up a little. And besides, I always suspected there was something there."

Ema quickly wrote into her notebook. "Suspicions of a relationship between Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth have been around for awhile." Mai couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, I'm just happy for Phoenix since being with Miles seems to really make him happy." Mai said with a small smile.

"And Mr. Edgeworth has been less cold to everyone since he's been with him," Maya added thoughtfully. "Actually, he's also been showing more emotion and such."

"I don't know much about that since I've only known him since he and Phoenix have gotten together, but I do think he's a lot nicer than he lets most people see." Mai said, slightly amused.

"Yep! Mr. Edgeworth used to be a real stick in the mud." The girl nodded as though agreeing with herself. "He always seemed to be so busy with work and didn't seem to know what having fun meant."

"Well, I think it's getting pretty late...I should get back to my hotel room." Ema said, finally resting her hand from writing everyone's observations down about Miles and Phoenix.

"Pearly and I should leave too." Maya looked at Pearl who was yawning.

As everyone made their way to the door, Mai said, "I'm glad we did this for them. Like Larry was saying, we should all get together again soon. Oh, and Ema, it was nice meeting you!"

* * *

The two watched as Larry drove away and out of sight before heading to the door. Miles unlocked the front door and opened it. Pess must have fallen asleep as he did not come bounding up to them like he usually did.

"That...was a nice dinner." Miles said quietly.

"They really did a great job." Phoenix agreed.

When Miles locked to door, Phoenix walked into the house and found Pess sleeping soundly on the floor in the middle of the living room. Not wanting to wake him up, Phoenix and Miles quietly made their way to the bedroom.

Phoenix smiled at Miles when they were in the room and said, "I seem to remember owing you a kiss."

"I believe you do owe me a kiss." Miles smiled at Phoenix. It was the same type of smile that he had shown earlier during dinner. The same smile that nearly caused the kiss Phoenix now owed to Miles. Although Miles was pretty sure Phoenix didn't feel as though as he owed him a kiss since both of them had wanted their lips to make contact earlier that night.

Especially with Miles smiling at him that way, Phoenix found himself unable to resist for another moment, quickly pulling Miles into his arms and kissing him passionately.

Miles wrapped his arms around Phoenix's neck, pulling him into a deeper kiss. _Well they're right, it seems neither of us can keep our hands off each other..._he thought amusedly.

Phoenix ran his hands slowly down Miles's back as they kissed, realizing just how much he really missed this closeness with Miles, deciding from now on, he'd make more time just to spend with him, wanting many more wonderful moments like this in the future.

Miles felt himself shiver under Phoenix's touch. He wanted more time with Phoenix. It was moments like these that Miles wished he never had to leave Phoenix's side. He ran his hands through Phoenix's hair. It was also moments like these that Miles wondered how one person could affect him so much.

Phoenix let out a small sigh as he felt Miles's hands in his hair. Phoenix slowly pulled back from Miles, took his hand, and began to pull him towards the bed.

"I think I owe you a lot more than just a kiss..." Phoenix said softly, trailing off with mischief in his eyes.

Miles suddenly pushed Phoenix onto the bed, pleasantly surprising him, saying, "I think you may be right." Miles had a smirk equal to the mischief that was in Phoenix's eyes.

Phoenix continued to look at him that way, gave him a small smirk, and replied in a low sexy voice, "Well then..."

Phoenix said no more, pulling Miles onto the bed as well.


End file.
